When asked by reporters at the White House about a possible deployment of US troops to Ukrainian territory, Biden said, “It’s not on the table.”
“The idea that the United States will use unilateral force to confront Russia if that country attacks Ukraine is not on the table right now,” the president said.
Biden recalled that the US has a “sacred obligation” to militarily support its NATO allies when attacked, but that commitment “does not extend” to Ukraine, which is not a member of the coalition.
What Biden will do in the event of a Russian attack on Ukraine is “providing (further) defensive capabilities to the Ukrainians”, as well as the possibility of “increasing” the US presence in countries on the eastern side of NATO, he said outside.
Wednesday’s remarks were Biden’s first remarks about a two-hour virtual meeting with Putin held the day before, centered on Western fears that Russian military activities across the Ukrainian border are prelude to an invasion of Ukraine.
“I was very direct (with Putin). I made it very clear that if he invades Ukraine there will be dire consequences, economic consequences that he has never seen, or has never seen before. Immediate response. Was that he understood. I absolutely believe that (Putin) got the message,” the US agent said.
The US and Ukraine believe that Russia is preparing for an invasion of Ukrainian territory that could occur as early as 2022, and therefore it is estimated to have between 70,000 and 94,000 Russian troops on the border with the neighboring country, according to US secrets. gathered between. Services cited by the local press.
This Russian military capability deployed along the Ukrainian border is, according to the State Department, “much greater and on a much more lethal scale” than before the 2014 invasion of Crimea, which is why the US warned that a response to the attack was possible. Will be more aggressive than it was seven years ago.
The White House also noted the possibility that Germany would suspend exploration of the Russian pipeline Nord Stream 2, which has not yet started operations and aims to transport gas from Russia to German territory. EFE
